Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand PS3 Review - PAGE 1

As previously promised by DICE and EA, PS3 users were treated to an early release of the new expansion pack Back to Karkand for Battlefield 3. This special collective remake of classic Battlefield 2 maps marks the beginning in a long road for BF3 users, as DICE promises to deliver much more content in the future.

Boasting four new reimagined maps, ten new weapons, three new vehicles, five new dogtags, and the implementation of "Assignments", Back to Karkand is looking to reward longtime fans of the series with many bullet ridden memories.

Making a return to the Battlefield series is "Conquest Assault", a mode which starts with one side holding all of the flags, and the opposing team having to take them over. If nothing else, it helps to break up the monotony when grinding through Conquest maps. Note all modes are supported in Karkand, though I didn't get any time with Rush due to no servers supporting it during my playtime.

Assignments

Assignments ask you to perform specific tasks. Once all of the objectives are checked off for a particular assignment, you are awarded with a new weapon and unlock the next tier -- unfortunately no extra points are awarded. Currently there are only five groups of assignments with two tiers each.

Wake Island

If you've ever played Battlefield 1943, you're going to feel right at home on Wake Island. A U-shaped island, the U.S. side starts from a remote carrier in the middle of the bay, from which they must perform an amphibious assault. This of course is much easier said than done.

Players skilled in teamwork will meet the Marines head-on at the beach front and keep them at bay. Helicopters and jets launched from the carrier deck are the best bet to clear a path for your troops to storm the beach; unfortunately if you get stuck in the middle of the ocean after bailing out, you'll be in for a very long swim to shore. The tips of the island no longer hold points to secure, making it even more difficult for the U.S. team to get it under control.

Sharqi Peninsula

One of the biggest maps of all the new ones released, it also seems to contain the least amount of vehicles, or at least that's how it felt hoofing it on foot for what seemed like eternity before finally running into any enemies. PC players are going to have a blast on this map with a full lot of 64 players running around, but for console gamers limited to only 24 bodies, it feels quite barren.

A run and gunner like myself is likely to get bored trying to find enemies, though long range snipers should be able to snag some wicked long distance shots. I don't have too much fun playing Conquest Assault here, but Team Deathmatch is an absolute blast -- the compressed version really suits it well.

Gulf of Oman

This particular map is a bit more crowded than the other three, especially compared to Sharqi Peninsula or Wake Island. I don't mind getting intimate on a map, but it's a little bit too easy for a great team to pin down a weaker one and tear them to shreds. While not my favorite, Gulf of Oman rounds out the map pack by offering something more compact for those who prefer to get up close and personal with their enemies.

Here you will find quite a few buggies to drive around in. If you've ever driven a real dune buggy, you will appreciate the feel of the in-game versions; the handling is very sharp and they are prone to flipping, so you'll want to avoid getting caught upside down near a blood thirsty enemy. Also keep in mind they have very light armor and are meant for quick transport -- holing up at a parked location to gun down enemies is likely to get you killed very quickly.

Strike at Karkand

Perhaps my absolute favorite map of the new pack, and I'm not alone in this thought. Karkand is the epitome of a "concrete jungle". With tanks rolling down the streets, soldiers are encouraged to traverse through the many buildings found on the map. You never quite know what's lurking in a hallway you jumped into, or an alley you dove for cover in.

The vehicles make short work of walls which enemies may be lurking behind, and Karkand literally rains concrete chunks on top of you. Even with buildings crumbling around you, there are plenty of spots at which to set-up an ambush. Snipers are going to be in love with the wide variety and large quantities of perches to nest in, where they can pick off unsuspecting opponents.

A Few Annoyances

The first 24 hours of launch about, the server browser was not displaying servers with the new maps, but fortunately DICE didn't waste any time in rolling out a server-side solution.

Another issue I've noticed is weapons have been reloading slower, and sometimes not even at all. It may seem like a minor hiccup, but it is one which could be the difference between life or death.

The new assignments are fantastic, however, it's a royal pain in the ass to determine what requirements are left in order to fulfill them. A quick view of the assignments is available after a match, but it doesn't include any details on the objectives you have left. So far the only way to find out is to look at your soldier stats from the main menu, which means you have to log out of multiplayer to do so. Assignment details will soon be available via the Battlelog website, but this presents the same problem.

Everything from the new pack is able to be used in conjunction with the original game maps, including weapons, stats, and assignments. This creates a seamless fusion, and allows players to fully enjoy the entire game without the hassles of forfeiting their new toys. An unfortunate byproduct of this, however, is the old maps have become somewhat vacant; everyone wants to hop off when they appear next in the rotation and search for rounds centering on new content. I prefer to ride out the cycle until they come up again, but the rounds in between can be excruciatingly long if too many people bail.

Final Thoughts

DICE and EA are off to an excellent start with the release of this spectacular content. Unfortunately some players are crying fowl after a multitude of system crashes and aren't overly thrilled with not being able to play the new maps. This never happened to me once, so I'm uncertain if this is considered a legitimate gripe as of yet -- there's still no word from EA one way or the other.

Despite a few minor bumps here and there, DICE has released a nearly perfect expansion which Battlefield 3 fans can't afford to pass up, especially since it's free for the majority of them.

Ed. note: this review was edited December 13 to reflect all modes in this expansion are supported, and to note the lack of servers running Rush.